very interesting topic! as a musician myself i often tend to think about the things they played, especially on the early albums.

the first album is very interesting in this aspect: a lot of timing issues etc. i think the reason for this does not necessarily lie in the quality of each musician but in the little time they had to record their first album. (also maybe in the little time they had to rehearse the songs to reach a "record-able" level?)- tgpt is the big exception for me in this case.

his drumming through his roxy-career until 1980 (live and in the studio) is really great! he holds it all together- nerver heard him doing mistakes. really solid and just "the right stuff" for roxy.

ferry and phil both have their weak points...
ferry´s piano playing is still quite amateurish- but boy, what ideas he had given his technical limitations!
i really much prefer phil´s rhythm guitar parts to his soloing (just compare the my only love solo from ollie thompson to every solo phil ever played). "still falls the rain" is one exception for me. i also like his soloing on "like a hurricane" from the avalon-tour.

andy is not really a jazz-palyer or whatever you call it, but has a really distinctive sound- and he knows when to play what- and, even more important, when NOT to play.

just my 5 cents.

Ferry - very very basic keyboard technique - black notes only - but fantastic ideas

Andy - classical background mixed with the modern approach - Stockhausen etc - not a sessioner, not smooth enough - but boy an unmistakeable contribution

Phil - love of Latin shines through - also took on the experimental side via Andy and Eno - some great solos throughout Roxy's career

TGPT - solid as a rock with great technique to go with it - bass drum technique and use of doubles was amazing - solo in RM/RM - also great feel - love of Bonham is evident - never understood what Ferry was on about in 1980 - Roxy were never about perfection in the studio - dick

Eno - the great non musician - great producer maybe the best

Bass players - from Gustafson onwards they were all more technically competent than the Roxy boys

Overall not sure who is the best because they are all different and that's what made them such a great band

XXXXXX

Totally agree.
And I'd always rather here roxy boys playing great ideas than virtuosi like al di meola playing perfectly. No offence meant, just my preference

Btw, the late great spenner's work on manifesto and stronger through the years...nice! And although he was a virtuoso perhaps, I won't hold that against him.

Thanks for the feedback, everybody - there are some very interesting comments in the thread

As I expected, there is no uniformity of opinion on this one. The underlying theme seems to be that, irrespective of their individual merits, they were the right people for RM and that the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. This synergy between band members is usually what makes a good band great, and clearly that was a critical factor in the Roxy equation. I wonder if Bryan has been a bit guilty of overlooking this over the years when identifying people to collaborate with?

If I had extended the scope of my OP to include all full members of Roxy, then would Eddie Jobson have found a few champions out there?

In terms of Eddie, he was undoubtedly the most technically able of them all - a wunderkind really and good at translating RM ideas into music. The SFE intro is his really.

She Sells is quite a complicated piece with time and feel changes throughout - its great though - one of the best on Siren I think.